A review of the Internet’s best sources for family law.
By Erik J. Heels
First published 6/1/1996; Martindale.com “Legal Links”; publisher: Martindale-Hubbell
1. FindLaw – This Yahoo-like resource is the Yahoo of family law resources. It’s all here: primary law (statutes/codes, regulations, and cases); secondary law (journals, newsletters, and articles); and (dare I say it) tertiary law (Web sites, Usenet newsgroups, mailing lists). (http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/15family/index.html)
2. Lyonette Louis-Jacques’s “Law Lists” – searching for “family” – Click on this link to search “Law Lists” for mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups related to family law. Mailing lists are tremendously valuable for legal professionals, and “Law Lists” is the definitive list of law-related mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups. (http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/law-lists?family)
3. Yahoo – Yahoo is the Yahoo of Yahoos. Like any other topic you can imagine, you’ll find lots of links in Yahoo’s Family Law index. (http://www.yahoo.com/Government/Law/Family_Law/)
4. The ‘Lectric Law Library’s Lawcopedia on Family Law – Consumer-oriented articles on a wide variety of family law topics. Includes a Guide to the California Family Court. (http://www.lectlaw.com/tfam.html)
5. Nolo Press’s Self-Help Law Center – Nolo has been in the self-help law publishing business since 1971. Their Web site reflects their commitment to the self-help concept. It also has lots of great lawyer jokes. (http://www.gnn.com/gnn/bus/nolo/fam.html)
6. CourtTV’s Family Law Center – Consumer-oriented articles on a many family law topics. A good companion to the book “The CourtTV Cradle-to-Grave Legal Survival Guide,” published by Little Brown. (http://www.courttv.com/legalhelp/family/)
7. US Department of Health and Human Services – Links to all Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, including the Administration for Children and Families. (http://www.os.dhhs.gov/)
8. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute – An oldie but a goodie. Includes links to all aspects of family law, from marriage to divorce to estate planning. (http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/topic2.html#family law)
9. Counsel Connect’s LawLinks – From the creator of the largest online service for lawyers, LawLinks is a subject-oriented guide to legal resources on the Net. (http://www1.counsel.com/lawlinks/topics/family.html)
10. www.familylaw.com – Yes, in case you were wondering, the domain “familylaw.com” is taken by a couple of California attorneys. But beyond the name, the site is empty. (http://www.familylaw.com/)
